Decriminalizing marijuana aimed at reducing black incarceration rate, Gov. Tony Evers says

MADISON – Allowing Wisconsin residents to smoke and sell small amounts of marijuana would reduce the disproportionate rate at which the state's black residents are arrested, Gov. Tony Evers argued Monday.

"People shouldn't be treated like criminals for accessing medicine that could change or maybe even save their lives," Evers said Monday at a news conference announcing his plan to legalize marijuana for medical reasons and decriminalize recreational use of small amounts of the plant. 

"But I also want to make this clear: This is not just about accessing health care," he said. "This is about connecting the dots between racial disparities and economic inequity."

Evers cited the state's distinction of having the nation's highest incarceration rate among black men, time in prison that can result from police stops prompted by marijuana use. 

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"Bottom line is, we're spending too much money prosecuting and incarcerating people and often people of color for non-violent crimes related to possessing small amounts of marijuana," Evers said. 

The majority of inmates are not in prison because of marijuana-related crimes, according to state Department of Corrections data. Just 6 percent of inmates were admitted because of such crimes as of 2016 — the most recent year of data available.

In the Milwaukee area, the rate at which black men are arrested for marijuana possession dwarfs that of white and Hispanic residents. Overall, black inmates account for about 40 percent of the state's prison population despite 6 percent of the state's population being black. 

A 2018 analysis of marijuana arrest records by the Wisconsin Justice Initiative showed 86 percent of Milwaukee County residents arrested for second-offense felony marijuana possession were black, despite black residents comprising 40 percent of the county's population. 

"By any standard, Wisconsin continues to be the worst place in America to be a black person, and our current criminal justice system is one of the biggest reasons why," Rep. David Crowley, D-Milwaukee, said Monday.

Proposal 'appears to go too far'

Despite strong support among Democrats, the path through the Republican-controlled state Legislature is murky — with both legislative leaders expressing opposition to Evers' proposals.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester said Monday he is open to legalization of marijuana for medical reasons "when it’s prescribed by a doctor, but it has to be done in a targeted way without allowing recreational use.”

But Vos is opposed to decriminalizing recreational use of marijuana, he said.

"Without having specific details, his proposal appears to go too far," Vos said. "It makes it easier to get recreational marijuana and provides a pathway to full legalization, which I do not support."

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald referred a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter to the Republican legislative leader's previous unsupportive comments on the idea of legalizing marijuana for medical reasons.

"Nah, I don't see it. I don't see the support. I don't support it," Fitzgerald said in December.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, a Republican member of the Legislature's budget-writing committee, said Evers' plan puts children at risk.

"Pretty sad the former head of our K-12 schools is now pushing the legalization of pot. Who is watching out for kids?" Stroebel tweeted, referring to Evers' previous job as state superintendent. 

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Proposal is 'all politics'

Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, and Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R-New Berlin, said Monday they are opposed to the plan. Knodl said he opposes the proposal on its merits and because he doesn't feel it should be introduced as part of a budget proposal.

Sanfelippo, chairman of the Assembly's health committee, was more strident. He called the move to legalize pot for medical use "all politics," saying there's no science backing THC's efficacy as medicine. 

Sanfelippo cited positions put forward by the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization and the American Society of Psychiatrists — all of which oppose legalization because of the damaging long-term impact of marijuana consumption on teenagers. He conceded CBD has some therapeutic value.

"Psychiatrists have come out and said the effects of long-term use on an adolescent is as harmful as lead," Sanfelippo told reporters at a news conference about an Assembly proposal to increase pay for the state's public defenders. 

"Now the governor last week announced an initiative to get rid of lead pipes, so it seems counterproductive to go ahead and advocate for making marijuana use easier when we know there are very detrimental health benefits or health adverse effects," he said. 

GOP Rep. Mark Born of Beaver Dam on Monday wouldn't say how he felt about the plan. 

"We'll certainly look at that and a number of other things the governor will roll out in his budget and then we'll have caucus discussions," said Born, who sits on the budget committee that will take up Evers' proposal. 

The Evers plan would create the state's first medical marijuana program that would be regulated by the state's health and agriculture departments. 

With a doctor's recommendation, Wisconsin residents could purchase up to 3 ounces of marijuana, or have up to 12 plants, if they were diagnosed with "a debilitating medical condition" such as HIV, Crohn's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, cancer and Alzheimer's disease. 

Anyone who has committed violent felonies in the last 10 years would be ineligible to consume marijuana for medical reasons. 

Dispensaries would not be allowed within 500 feet of a school, and smoking marijuana would be banned on public buses, at work, at schools, in correctional facilities, in public parks or beaches and at youth centers.

Recreational marijuana use also would be decriminalized under Evers' plan, which would allow all Wisconsin residents to have or sell 25 grams or less.

The plan would ban law enforcement from using marijuana odor or possession of 25 grams or less to establish probable cause that a person possesses more than 25 grams.

For perspective, 25 grams of marijuana could fit inside a standard Ziplock sandwich bag. 

Evers said Monday he chose to seek decriminalization rather than legalization of recreational marijuana use because he sees the proposal as being more palatable to a Legislature that is lukewarm on the idea at best. 

Evers' plan bans operating heavy machinery while under the influence of marijuana, but the state's largest business lobby is against the plan to decriminalize recreational use because of its potential effect on manufacturing workers.

"There is not enough research on this issue to determine if marijuana can be used safely, and there is plenty of research that shows it impairs an individual’s ability to operate equipment safely,” Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, said in a statement. 

Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, a Democrat from Milwaukee, rebuffed WMC's concerns about workplace safety.

"Workplace safety. ... Half of the nation's drunkest cities are in Wisconsin," Barnes tweeted.

Wisconsin would become the 34th state to legalize cannabis use in some form if lawmakers approve.  

Bruce Vielmetti and Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.